WASHINGTON, D. C. - The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday took a largely symbolic vote on a bill intended to block the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from implementing a rule it proposed earlier this year that's meant to clarify which water bodies are federally protected under the Clean Water Act.

Foes call the EPA proposal a "power grab" by the federal government that would subject waters such as streams, ponds, even puddles to the EPA's red tape, bureaucracy and permitting requirements.

They said the bill, which passed the House by an 262 to 152 margin with backing from 35 Democrats, is needed to prevent its implementation although the legislation has scant chance of passing the Democrat-controlled U.S. Senate.

The only Ohio Democrat to support the bill was Marcia Fudge of Warrensville Heights. A spokeswoman said Fudge, a member of the House Agriculture Committee, believes language in the rule would allow EPA to regulate ditches, ponds and flood plains and could "negatively impact farmers, construction workers, miners and manufacturers." She said EPA did not respond to a letter Fudge sent in April that expressed her concerns.

Holmes County Republican Rep. Bob Gibbs said the EPA's plan would have "serious consequences" for jobs and the nation's economy and would restrict landowners from making decisions about their property. His speech on the House of Representatives floor urged colleagues to "put an end to EPA overreach."

Toledo Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur brandished a jar of green algae-laden water from Lake Erie on the House of Representatives floor as she argued against passing the bill.

She said the lake's algae problem shows why EPA should protect waterways that flow into bigger lakes, rivers and oceans, as the new rule would require. Kaptur described how farm runoff into Lake Erie's tributaries led to an algae bloom that left more than half a million people in the Toledo area without safe drinking water for several days this summer.

"Shame on you," Kaptur told the bill's supporters. "What happened to us is a severe warning for our country and we'd better pay attention."

Other Democrats, like Florida's Alcee Hastings, said the bill is a waste of time because it can't pass the U.S. Senate, and said it is being brought up to excite the Republican voters instead of moving forward on more pressing matters like immigration reform.

"This is a body that would rather be trapped in gridlock than go about the business of the country," said Hastings.

EPA has said the new rule was prompted by several court decisions that generated confusion over which water bodies are covered by the Clean Water Act. Administrator Gina McCarthy says it would not "add to or expand the scope of waters historically protected under the Clean Water Act," and would cut red tape and provide businesses with certainty.

EPA says dozens of organizations including the American Farm Bureau Federation, American Iron and Steel Institute and the Sierra Club asked it to issue the rules to explain which waters are regulated. Waterways that flow into bigger lakes, rivers and ocean areas would be covered under the proposed rule while groundwater, ditches, wastewater treatment systems and stock ponds would not.